Apparatus for the propulsion, translation, support and static stabilisation of a movable medium in a fluid



April 3, 1962 G. LINI APPARATUS FOR THE PROPULSION, TRANSLATION, SUPPORTA SATION OF A MOVABLE MEDIUM IN A FLUID STABILI Filed Jan. 6, 1960 TESTOND STATIC 3 Sheets-Sheet l 7% f v I oo o *5 Z I I OOO 9 H12 I I 19 1 2022 I; '23 Fbgl. 34 I 1 r t AWL-W70? 470mm 7 5m Apnl 3, 1962 G. TESTOLINI3,027,708

LSI N, SUPPORT AND STATIC STABILISATION OF E MEDIUM IN A FLUID FiledJan. 6, 1960 APPARATUS FOR THE PROPU ON, TRANSLATIO A MOVABL 3Sheets-Sheet 2 HIV 5 M w F A TTORIVE) April 3, 1962 G. TESTOLINI3,027,708

APPARATUS FOR THE PROPULSION,

TRANSLATION, SUPPORT AND STATIC STABILISATION OF A MOVABLE MEDIUM IN AFLUID Filed Jan. 6, 1960 3 Shets-Sheet 5 qlomw/ 72570 A TTORA/EY Unitedrates Patent U APPARATUS FOR THE PRUPULSHDN, TRANSLA- TTON, SUPPURT ANDSTATEC STABILESATION OF A MGVAELE MEDlilJM TN A FLUID GiovanniTestoiiini, Merino, Italy Filed inn. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 8555 Claimspriority, application Switzerland Oct. 29, 1%9 4- Claims. (Cl. ell-35.5)

The present invention relates to an apparatus, based on the principle ofthe venturi tube, for the propulsion, translation, support and staticstabilisation of a movable means in a fluid, by utilising the thrust ofthe ambient fluid on the apparatus, in the interior of which a staticlowering of pressure is produced by means of fluid flowing in it.

The said apparatus, in a first form of construction, limited topropulsion from the bottom of the top and vice versa, essentiallyconsists of a venturi tube, that is to say, a tube comprising threeparts, the top part being convergent and the bottom part divergent,connected together by a cylindrical central part constituting thecontraction; the walls of the curvilinear convergent part and of therectilinear central part are provided with apertures, at suitabledistance apart and communicating with a cylindrical chamber having flatbases and surrounding the two parts in such a way as to form a chamberwhich is hermetically sealed with respect to the surroundings at rest;the free end at the bottom of the divergent part being provided with afan of which the function is to draw in by suction the ambient fluid,through the mouth of the convergent part, expelling it from thedivergent part and creating a lowering of pressure, with respect to thesurrounding medium, in the cylindrical chamber, by means of theaforementioned apertures, which constitute static flow-intakes.

In another constructional form, of which the purpose is to bring aboutnot merely the propulsion from the bottom to the top but also thetranslation of the movable medium to which the apparatus is applied, thesaid apparatus is provided with two fiat-based cylindrical chambers, ofwhich the upper one surrounds the convergent part, while the lower one,which is rotatable about its axis in order to deflect the thrust in allthe directions at right angles to the axis, surrounds the cylindricalcentral part and has radial apertures in its walls, which aperturescommunicate with the surrounding fluid and can be gradually closed bymeans of a movable screen, in order to vary the intensity of the thrust;the free end of the divergent part can be provided with two coaxial fansrotating in opposite directions, each one being surrounded by a flywheeland operated by a motor, or else separated by the coupling of twodevices for the purpose of neutralising the reaction-couple.

In a third form of construction, for the purpose of providing anapparatus capable of exerting a braking and withdrawal action, thedivergent part has apertures which communicate with the cylindricalchamber which is situated below the others and which surrounds it, andboth the said apertures and those provided in the convergent part havemovable screens of which the purpose is to open or close the saidapertures or static intakes.

The second and the third form of construction render it possible toarrange the apparatus so that its axis of propulsion is horizontal, insuch a way that what was originally a propulsion thrust becomes atranslationthrust, and vice versa.

According to an alternative arrangement, the curvilinear convergent partand the rectilinear central part, both surrounded by a cylindricalchamber with a flat base and communicating with it by means of theapertures, as

3,0217% Patented Apr. 3, 1962 already mentioned, can be flexible withrespect to the divergent part situated underneath; in this case the baseis provided with apertures, or static intakes, of which the closure canbe regulated so that the propulsion-axis can be deflected.

The attached drawings are schematic diagrams of certain possible formsof construction, and in these drawings:

FIG. 1 is an axial-longitudinal section of the first form ofconstruction;

FIG. 2 is a similar section of the second form of construction;

W8. 3 is a section along the line aa of FIG. 2, with the wallsthickened.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate certain parts of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are axial sectional diagrams of the ends of two divergentparts coupled;

FIG. 8 is a similar axial section of a third form of construction;

FIG. 9 represents, again in axial section, a possible alternative formwhich can be adopted for the upper part of the apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, of part of FIG. 9.

With reference to FIG. 1, the apparatus consists of a venturi tube,comprising three parts: convergent and curvilinear 1, central andcylindrical 2, divergent 3. Parts 1 and 2 are provided with apertures 4,or static intakes, suitably spaced out and arranged, and communicatingwith the chamber 5, which consists of a cylindrical envelope 6 with flatbases 7 and 8. To the lower end of the divergent part 3 is afiixed a fan9, operated by the motor iii.

Assuming the existence of the necessary fluid in which the apparatus isrequired to move, the operation of the latter is as described below:

The stream of fluid flowing in the tube and attracted by the fan 9,owing to the efiect of the reduction in section, in accordance with thecontraction of central part 2, increases in speed, producing a loweringof pressure with respect to the surroundings; this lowering of pressureis communicated via the static intakes 4 of the convergent part 1 to thetight chamber 5, in which there will be a maximum lowering of pressureat the base 8, increasing as the area of the said base increases and thethrust thus becomes greater. The apparatus is thus, as it were, suckedback into the fluid in which it is immersed, because the frontalresistance is reduced by the lowering of pressure, and a posteriorthrust is at the same time imparted by the fan, in accordance with thearrow P.

Since the magnitude of the thrust of the apparatus is in directproportion to the lowering of pressure and this in its turn is in directproportion to the speed of the liquid in the contracted part, theproduction of a strong thrust necessitates the adoption of considerablespeeds in the contraction or central part 2. The fluid in thecontraction will thus acquire high kinetic energy, so that fromBernoullis equation it may be deduced, in view of the great magnitude ofthis force with respect to the other terms of the said equation, thatthe kinetic energy is almost exactly equal to the lowering of pressure.It follows that with the system of propulsion provided by the invention,and in view of the ratio between the power supplied and the efiectivethrust obtained, extremely satisfactory rates of efliciency areprovided, which are far superior to those obtained with the presentsystems.

With reference to the second form of construction (FIG. 2), parts 1 and2 are equipped with apertures 43, communicating with the chambers 11 and12 formed by the cylindrical envelope 13 and the rotating ring 14interposed between the flat bases 15 and t6; the upper envelope 13surrounds the convergent part 1, and the lower ring 14, which isrotatable about its axis, surrounds the central cylindrical part 2 andis provided on its surface with radial apertures 17 which communicatewith the surrounding fluid and can be gradually closed by means of amovable screen 18, in order to obtain different trans lation-speeds. Theenvelope 14 is a ring rotatable about its axis, so that the movablemedium to which the apparatus is applied can be adjusted in all thedirections at right angles to the axis in accordance with the arrow T,and the rotatory movement takes place as shown in FIG. 4.

The free end of the convergent part is equipped with two fans 19 and 20,which are coaxial, rotate in opposite directions and each surrounded bya flywheel 2.1 and 22, capable of supplying energy during the intervalof time between the moment when one motor 23 is shut off and the othermotor 24 comes into operation and also of assisting the rotation of thefans in cases where the apparatus is started up with the motors shut Oh.The inclination of the blades of the said fans is reversible (FIG. sothat during the descent the automatic rotation takes place in the samedirections as previously. The said fans, instead of being coaxial, mayalso be made independent, and aflixed to units of apparatus arranged inpairs, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and may be rotatable in oppositedirections.

FIG. 8 shows a further form of construction, in which, in addition tothe means adopted in the previous case, the divergent part 3 is providedwith apertures 25, which communicate with a cylindrical chamber 26,situated underneath the rotatable ring 14, surrounding the divergentpart 3 and enclosed by the envelope 27. Apertures 4 and 25 of theconvergent and divergent part respectively are equipped with movablescreens 28 and 29 of which the purpose is to open or close them.

In the alternative form shown in FIG. 9, the curvilinear convergent part1 and the rectilinear central part 2, both surrounded by the cylindricalchamber 11, which has the fiat base 15 and which communicates with themby means of the apertures 4, as already stated, are rendered flexible inrespect of the divergent part 3 underneath, by means of the Cardan joint30.

The details of this universally movable joint are seen more clearly inthe enlarged view of FIG. 10. The base 15 carries an annular member 32the wall of which is part-spherical and which is seated in acorrespondingly part-spherical recess 33 formed in the upper end of thepart 3. It will be appreciated that if the parts 11 and 3 are movedrelatively about the common axis of their respective part-sphericalmember 32 and recess 33, the member 32 can ride into the recess to agreater and lesser extent and provide continuity between the Parts 2 and3 irrespective of their relative positions within limits. In order tomake the member 32 an hermetic sliding fit in the recess 33, there areprovided annular grooves 34,, 35 in which are seatedresiliently-compressible rings 36 which press onto the member 32 to forman air-tight seal but permit same to move when required. Movement of thepart 3 with respect to the part 2 alters the relative axis of the thrustexerted by the fluid passing through the part 3.

The advantages offered by the use of the apparatus in which theinvention relates are as follows:

(a) High rate of performance combined with low operating-costs and ahigh weight-power ratio;

(11) Simplicity of the apparatus and thus of operation, with lowrotation-speeds for the fan (the Only rotating organ) and lesslikelihood of damage;

(a) Elimination ,of guiding, braking and transmissionorgans;

(a') Absence of jets of fluid at high temperatures;

(2) Possibility of equipping each movable medium with one or more unitsof apparatus;

The possibility, for aerial media, of moving in any direction in theambient fluid, of taking off and landing vertically, even in limitedspaces, of performing complicated movements at any height or speed insafety, and of being converted from an aerial medium into a land mediumwithout any appreciable modifications;

(g) Stability of land and marine media, with the possibility ofdispensing with the large masses of which the purpose is to ensureadhesion and render the moving medium stable;

(h) The possibility, for land media, to move over any terrain, adhesionno longer being required;

(i) The possibility, for aerial and marine media, to change directionand also to rotate about their own axis.

It is obvious that the apparatus may differ from that described andillustrated, in order to take account of the various practicalapplications, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for propulsion and support in a fluid, comprising aventuri-like tube open at both ends and including a convergent portionand a constriction portion and a divergent portion, the convergentportion and the constriction portion having apertures in theirrespective walls, means arranged in the tube for drawing fluid throughthe tube so as to produce a lowering of pressure in the convergentportion and constriction portion, first chamber means surrounding theconvergent portion and in communication with the interior of theconvergent portion through the apertures in the wall of the latter,whereby the lowering of pressure produced in the convergent portion istransmitted to said first chamber means, second chamber meanssurrounding the constriction portion and in communication with theinterior of the constriction portion through the apertures in the wallof the latter thereby to transmit the lowering of pressure produced inthe constriction portion to said second chamber means, said secondchamber means including apertures in its wall, and shutter means movablyarranged on the Wall of the second chamber means for closing a selectednumber of the apertures of said wall, thereby to obtain controllableradia-l intake of fluid.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second chamber means isrotatable about the axis of the venturi like tube, to permit positioningof the apertures in its wall in a predetermined direction.

3. Apparatus for propulsion and support in a fluid, comprising aventuri-like tube open at both ends and including a convergent portion,a substantially rectilinear portion and a divergent portion all of whichportions having apertures in their walls, means arranged in the tube fordrawing fluid through the tube so as to produce a lowering of pressurein the said portions, first and second and third chamber meansrespectively surrounding the convergent, constriction and divergentportions of the venturi-like tube and each in communication with theinterior of said tube through the apertures of the respective portions,whereby the lowering of pressure produced in the tube is transmitted tosaid chamber means, the second chamber means including apertures in itswall, shutter means movably arranged on the second chamber means forselectively closing a number of said apertures, and another shuttermeans movably arranged on the convergent portion and on the divergentportion of the venturilike tube for selectively closing a number of theapertures forming a communication between said portions and theirrespective chamber means.

4. Apparatus for propulsion and support in a fluid, comprising aventuri-like tube including a convergent portion, a constrictionportion, and a divergent portion, the convergent portion and theconstriction portion including a plurality of apertures in their wall,means in the tube for drawing fluid therethrough, and chamber meanssurrounding the convergent portion and constriction portion and incommunication with the interior of said portions through the aperturingin their wall, and a universallymovable joint forming a coupling betweenthe assembly,

consisting of the convergent and constriction portions and 1,957,896their surrounding chamber means, and the divergent por- 2,811,828 tionof the venturi-like tube. 2,922,277

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 654344 1,873,505 Stipa Aug. 23, 1932 5 Marguglio May 3, 1934 McLafiertyNov. 5, 1957 Bertin Ian. 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS France Jan. 13, 1951

